Puti (means white in English) is my all white deaf kitty with sparkling blue eyes. She started out as my foster but i ended up giving her a forever home.
We never knew at first that she is deaf until one day when my son playfully made a loud noise while holding her and she didn’t even flinch. My son made more loud noises near her ears and never reacted. It was later on confirmed by the vet when she was spayed.
Puti has a funny meow. It is a combination of cresendo and decrescendo of meows. Oh i wish i could record it. Anyway, it may also be a sudden burst of meow that will surely catch your attention.
At feeding time, she’s the only one with the loudest meow. Sometimes it is so loud that i thought i might have stepped on her tail or what.
Here are some pointers on how to care for a deaf cat/kitty.
- As much as possible, avoid disturbing a deaf kitty while asleep. Deaf cats startle so easily while a normal sleeping cat would almost always curl up more and welcome the gentle strokes as it lays sleeping. If there is a need to wake the kitty up just be gentle as much as possible.
- Provide toys that produce sounds. Deaf cats may never hear the sound but they will surely feel the vibrations the toys make.
- If you want to communicate with your deaf cat, place the cat’s body under your chin or chest so it could feel the vibrations as we speak. (I say “eat” when it’s time to eat. I say her name a few times during relaxed moments. I say “play” when it is time to play). I prefer to say one word than phrases so my cat could easily remember it and it worked.
- Another way to communicate is to teach a deaf cat some simple hand signals. During feeding time, i do hand signals to Puti so she would sit before i give her bowl of food. I raise one finger (pointing up) which signals her to sit. Being constant is the trick. Now she knows and follows my hand signal.
Above pointers are all based on my own experience. I honestly BELIEVE that they could serve as a guide in dealing with a deaf cat. Just devote a little time, some patience and a little training.
My cat Puti may be a special needs cat but it doesn’t stop her from being so playful like any normal cats.
my sweetpainteddreams 
She’s adorable ๐
thank you…
You’re welcome
Puti is a gorgeous kitty.
thank you.. she is a fast learner too. ๐
What a lovely post – Puti is so pretty too! My little dog went deaf, so I had to teach her to always keep an eye on me and respond to hand signals. ๐บ๐xxx
thank you samantha.. i never thought that i could teach her hand signals.. it worked and she learned it fast.. food is a good motivator haha.
With your love and care, Puti looks simply beautiful and purrfect! (,,^ใปโใป^,,)
thank you pat.. love and purrs.. ๐
Puti is so pretty. I liked your post on special needs cats.pressed this on https://daisymae2017.wordpress.com and followed you by e-mail.
thank you crystal.. yes i agree but Puti doesn’t know she is that pretty..
treat her like royalty and maybe she will. But from what I read you already treat her like royalty.
She is very pretty. I wonder if her meow is different because she is deaf, just like a deaf human speaks different.
her meow is like a normal meow but the pitch is kind of uncontrolled… a louder meow at first then followed by a softer meow then a loud one again.. and when i say loud it’so loud that you would think you are stepping on her tail..
That sounds similar to my cat Frankie’s meow when we encountered another cat on our walk.